Located on the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno, the Fleischmann Planetarium was constructed with a $330,000 grant from the Max C. Fleischmann Foundation as a community educational and cultural facility with a mission to present astronomical and meteorological displays and educational programs to the Northern Nevada community. Completed in 1963, the building incorporates a unique hyperbolic paraboloid roof design covering an elliptical interior and was billed as the world's first atmospherium. The Fleischmann Foundation's financial subsidy for operating costs ended in 1970, and having to rely primarily on its ticket and sales revenue the planetarium curtailed its activities during the early to mid 1970s. By the fall of 1975 it was forced to close for several months. In 1976 a major fundraising drive was undertaken to meet a $450,000 challenge grant offered by the foundation. The conditions of the grant were met by the end of that year and a permanent maintenance fund for the operation of the planetarium was established. Originally a unit of the university's Desert Research Institute and called the Charles and Henriette Fleischmann Atmospherium and Planetarium, later name changes have included the Fleischmann Atmospherium/Planetarium, the Fleischmann Planetarium, and the Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center.
From the description of Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center records 1963-2008. (University of Nevada, Reno). WorldCat record id: 63667189
